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Lexus

Lexus

Takumi

A 60,000 hour story on the survival of human craft.
Takumi is the name given to Japanese master craftsmen. They devote a lifetime to their craft. Endless repetition, no shortcuts. Developing almost super human abilities. But how do we honor and preserve human craft, human ingenuity, timeless creative processes; as simultaneously we design machines to act more precisely and faster than humans ever can? How do we take the long road to excellence in a world clamoring for shortcuts? This film is a visually-stunning, character-driven portrait of the unique philosophy of Takumi in today’s modern world.

Trailer / Takumi NYC Doc Festival

The 60,000 Hour Project

The 50 minute documentary is a shortened version of the actual documentary – which, incredibly, will be 60,000 hours long - was selected to premiere at Doc NYC 2018.
In the 60,000 hour film – narrated by former director of the National Gallery and British Museum, and globally renowned author and broadcaster Neil MacGregor - looped footage in between each Takumi’s chapter will mimic the process they have completed to become Takumi. Completing the essential tasks & skills of their craft over and over again to achieve perfection, without complaint. Viewers can travel with the Takumi’s, through their journeys to mastery, and see how minutes turn to hours, hours to days, and days to years – all in the blink of an eye.

But why 60,000?

There is a popular theory that it takes at least 10,000 hours of focused practice for a human to become expert in any field.
But in Japan, there are craftspeople who go far beyond this to reach a special kind of mastery. These people are called Takumi and they devote 60,000 hours to their craft. That’s 8 hours a day, 240 days a year, for over 30 years.
It’s an almost superhuman level of dedication. To a life of repetition and no shortcuts.
Most of us will never reach such heights.

But what about machines?

Artificial Intelligence is no longer science fiction; it is in our household appliances, the phones in our pockets. It is learning, improving and calculating at speeds way beyond human capability.
It is developing so rapidly that by 2050 machines will outperform humans in virtually every field.
Will human craft disappear as artificial intelligence reaches beyond our limits?
Or, will this cornerstone of our culture survive and become more valuable than ever?